Baltimore Named Bed Bug Capital of America

BALTIMORE, MD — Waking up itchy in the middle of the night? There might be a reason for that, if you live in Baltimore.

Charm City topped the list of 50 most bed bug infested U.S. metropolises released Tuesday by Orkin.

The pest control company based the rankings on where it performed the most residential and commercial bed bug treatments between Dec. 1, 2015, and Nov. 30, 2016.

Bed bugs are insects that hitch-hike onto people from mattresses, luggage or other areas. All they need for survival is blood. Signs of bed bugs are bites, blood-stained bedding or flat reddish-brown insect bodies.

“Anyone can get bed bugs in their home," Orkin Entomologist and Director of Technical Services Ron Harrison, Ph.D., said in a statement. "We have treated for bed bugs in everything from million dollar homes to public housing."

Here are the top bed bug infested cities in America, according to Orkin:

1. Baltimore, Maryland
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Chicago, Illinois
4. New York, New York
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Los Angeles, California
7. Detroit, Michigan
8. Cincinnati, Ohio
9. Philadelphia, Pennyslvania
10. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, California

Check out the full list of the 50 most bed bug infested cities.

Orkin, which has put together the list for the past six years, said this was the first time Baltimore has made it to the top five; last year Charm City was ranked 10.

“We have more people affected by bed bugs in the United States now than ever before,” Harrison said, adding that bed bugs are a growing issue. “They were virtually unheard of in the U.S. 10 years ago."

See information on bed bugs from the Baltimore City Health Department.

Image via the Centers for Disease Control.